Brush cutter



Apnl 19, 1960 B. E. MURPHY ETAL 24,811

BRUSH CUTTER Original Filed April 30, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 64 70 i! 454 468 72 I E 50 :4 7 "'1 E! i 75 so F" w z a E- MIN /v, 26 l a E I 56/.56 ,y l2 I6 00 1:11 33 INVENTOR i 3 J BYNUM E. MURPHY WILLIAM L.BREWER,JR.

ANDREW E. MELTON ATTORNEYS B. E. MURPHY EI'AL BRUSH CUTTER April 19,1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 30, 1957 INVENTOR Br/wm E.MURPHY WILLIAM L. flaws/W4 ANDREW E. MEL TON ATTORNEYS April 19, 1960 a.E. MURPHY EI'AL 24,811

BRUSH CUTTER Original Filed April 30, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORfirm/M E. Mann/1r WILLIAM L. fine-wade. ANDREW f. MEL ro- ATTORNEY 6Uniwd S t Pa i n BRUSH CUTTER Bynum E. Murphy, William L. Brewer, Jr.,and Andrew E. Melton, Mlnden, La., assiguors to Dealer Associates, Inc.,Mrnden, La., a corporation of Louisiana Original No. 2,872,770, datedFebruary 10, 1959, Serial No. 656,143, April 30, 1957. Application forreissue July 23, 1959, Serial No. 829,171

3 Claims. (Cl. 56-25.'4)

This invention relates to rotary cutters and more par ticularly torotary cutters of the tractor-home or driven variety which areespecially suited to the cutting of brush, small trees, and other densevegetation.

principal object of the present invention is the pro vision of rotarycutting apparatus which may be propelled or carried by a tractor andwhich is operated directly by the tractor power take-off to driverotatable cutter means of sufficient ruggedness for the cutting down andshredding of brush, young trees, and like vegetation as the tractorprogresses over an area to be cleared.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved means fortransmitting power from the tractor power take-off to the rotatablecutting means of the ap paratus of the invention.

Other objects and their attendant advantages will become apparent as thefollowing detailed description is read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of a form ofrotary cutter constructed in accordance with the invention and adaptedto be carried in front of a tractor; I

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken substantially on theline 3 3 of Fig. l; and t Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing asecond embodiment of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral refers generally to atractor to which is attached the brush cutting apparatus of the presentinvention indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. The apparatus12 is shown mounted at the front end of the tractor.

More particularly, the apparatus of the'invention includes a bedplate 14which is adapted to support the revolving cutting mechanism. indicatedgenerally at 16 and the driving means therefor comprising a powertakeoff connection 18 and a cone type drive 20,-all of which aredescribed with more particularity hereinafter.

The plate 14 carrying the aforementioned mechanism is connected to thefront end of the tractor by means of a pair of spaced arms 22 which maybe hydraulically raised and lowered by usual power actuators (not shown)such as those employed for the control of a bulldozer blade. The plate14 may be connected at its rear end to the arms 22 by brackets 24 andthe arms may extend sufficiently far forwardly so that their endextremities 26 may project through slots 28, more clearly shown in Fig.2, in an upwardly bent portion 30 of the plate 14. The upwardly bentportion 30 of the plate serves as a deflecting apron which cooperateswith a pair of depending side plates 32, welded or otherwise attached tothe opposed forward side edges of plate 14, to direct and guide thevegetation to be cut into the cutting zone beneath the plate 14. Theapron 30 is maintained rigid by means of struts 34 weldedbetween. theupper corners 7 Re.- 24,811 Reissued Apr. 19,

of the apron and a suitable transverse abutment 36 welded or otherwisesecured to the upper surface of the plate 14. At its forward end thebedplate is connected to the arms 22 by means of a pair of uprightmembers 38 which may be welded to the plate adjacent the bend of theapron and transversely spaced to bracket the arms 22 to which theupright members may be attached as bybolts or the like.

The upright members 38 not only serve as supports for plate 14 but theyalso may provide an adjustable support for a pusher bar assembly,indicated generally at 40, for bending over trees so that they will bemore readily received into the cutting zone. As illustrated the pusherbar assembly consists of an outwardly curved transverse bar 42 havingintegral therewith a pair of arms 44 which are telescopically receivedin the outer ends of tubular members 46 which in turn are slidinglyengaged in a pair of brackets 48- which may be pivotally attached as bytoggle bolts 49 or the like to any corresponding pair of a series ofaligned holes 50 in the upper ends of the upright members 36. The innerends of the tubular members 46 maybe suitably inwardly bent andpivotally attached at 52 (see Fig. 2) to the arms 22. The pusher bararms 44 may be provided with a series of aligned holes 54 which may bebrought into registry with a hole in the outer end of the tubular memberwhere a suitable toggle bolt 55 may maintain the pusher bar at thedesired distance in front of the apron 30. The pivoted connections 52and the sliding brackets 48 in cooperation with the alignedseries ofholes 50 in the upright members 38 permit limited elevational adjustmentof the pusher bar 4-2 so that trees may be engaged in the optimumposition for proper bending. it will of course be apparcut that whereonly light growth is to be cut, the pusher bar assembly may be readilyremoved.

The rotary cutting mechanism 16 is rotated by means of the cone pulley20 which frictional-1y engages a slop.-

ing driven surface 56 of a blade carrying member .58 more fullydescribedhereinafter. The cone pulley 20 is driven from the power take-off shaftof the tractor which may be connected to driving mechanism mounted onthe plate 14 through a shaft 60 provided with universal joints 62,preferably located at both ends of shaft 60 (though only one joint isshown) which in turn is connected to a sprocket shaft 64 carrying asprocket 65 and mounted in suitable bearings atop a post 66 secured tothe plate 14 in substantial alignment with the tractor power take-off.The sprocket .65 is connected by means of the usual sprocket chain,indicated by the dotted line 68, to a driven sprocket 7 0 secured to ashaft 72 mounted at its opposite ends in bearing pillows 74 atopsuitable posts 75 welded to the plate 14 in positions supporting theshaft 72 in the vertical plane through the fore and aft center line ofthe plate 14. The shaft 72 carries the cone pulley 20 which projectsdownwardly through an opening 76 in the plate 14 into engagement withsurface 56 and is operatively connected to shaft 72 by means .of

a known over-running clutch 78 in the usual manner.

From the foregoing description it will ,be apparent that when the powertake-off shaft of the tractor is operated, rotation'thereof will betransmitted through the shaft .60, universal joint 62, sprockets 65 and70, shaft 72 and cone 'pulley 20 to horizontally rotate the bladecarrying meniber 58 through the frictional engagement of the cone pulleydriving surface with the surface 56 of the blade carrying member.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the revolving cutting mechanism 16 consists ofthe horizontal blade carrying member 58, swingable cutting blades 89, afrusto conical member 82 providing the driven surface 56, a centralshaft 84 to which the blade carrying member is attached,

anda bearing housing 86 for receiving the shaft 84. The frusto conicalmember 82 may be flanged at 88 and concentrically and rigidly attachedto the upper surface ofthe blade carrying member 58 which comprises acircular plate having a marginal area 90 extending beyond the flange 88and adapted to be drilled to receive pivot bolts 92 for swingablysupporting the cutter blades 80 which may be provided with cutting edges96 on their leading sides as illustratedin Fig. 2. The blades areswingably. mounted so they will swing inwardly without excessive damagewhen an uncuttable object, such as a rock, is struck by the bladesduring a cutting operation. If desired, a plurality of opposed holes canbe provided about the marginal area 90 to receive additional cuttingblades 80. a r I The member 58 is secured to the shaft 84 by the .pro:vision of bolts 96 received in registering holes passing respectivelythrough member 58 and a flange 98 integral with the lower end of theshaft 84. This member is suitably machined to receive the inner races ofcombination radial and thrust roller type bearings 100 and 102 and thehousing 86 is suitably counterbored to provide shoulders 104 and 106 forsupporting the outer races of the respective bearings. As knownshaftseal 108 may be provided at the lower end of the housing to conservelubricant and prevent the entrance of dirt into the bearing area. Theupper end of the shaft 84 may be threaded as at 110 to receive a nut andwasher assembly 112 to retain the bearing and shaft in assembledcondition. The entire assembly of the revolving cutting mechanism issecured to the plate 14 by the provision of a radial flange 114 integralwith the housing 86 and resigned to seat on the upper surface of theplate 14 and be rigidly attached thereto with the lower portion of thehousing projecting downwardly through the plate in the manner shown..

The embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is substantially the same as in Fig. 3except as to the construction of the blade carrying member 58. In Fig.4, parts identical to those in Fig. 3 carrying the same referencenumeral and description of these parts of Fig. 3 suifices for Fig. 4.However, instead of a blade carrying member 58 comprising a flat plateand a frusto conical member 82 welded to the plate, the blade carryingmember 118 of Fig. 4 comprises a unitary dished plate which may beformed in a single stamping operation to provide a horizontal flatcentral portion 120 for attaching the plate to the shaft 84, a frustoconical friction surface 122, a horizonthe skirt has enabled the holderto slide over the object as previously described. The recess providestwo important advantages, the firstof which is that any obfeet which theskirt is capable of sliding over enters the recess and for the remainderof the passage of the holder over the object, the latter is entirely outof engagement with the holder so that the only transverse bending shockloads on the central spindle are produced when the object initiallyengages the skirt and when the object slides out from under the holderas the cutter advances. The second advantage is the fact that after theholder is initially slid over the object, the object, then beingcontained in the recess out of engagement with the holder, has notendency to cause the holder to rock on the object and slide or slipsideways as would be the case if vthe lower side of the holder wereflat. Thus the cutter traverses a substantially straight path whichwould, as a practical-matter, be substantially impossible if the holderwere perfectly flat on the bottom surface. By providing the relievingspace, in accordance with the invention, the varying bending loads onthe spindle and sideways slipping of the entire cutter is eliminated andthe cutter works more smoothly over the rugged areas than is possiblewith the'fla't blade holders used heretofore. It should be noted, ofcourse, that the inner or bottom side of the friction surface 122provides a sliding surface for the object as it leaves the recess in thesame way'as the skirt 126 causes the holder to initially slide up andover the object.

An important feature of the present invention is the provision of meansfor driving the revolving 'cutter' mechanism without the exertion of anytorque whatsoever on the shaft 84. This is accomplished through the useof the cone pulley 2t) and the frusto conical portion 82 or 122 whichspaces the point of driving efiort, indicated at 116, radially away fromthe shaft 84 so that no turning torque is exerted on theshaft. With thisatraugem'ent'the shaft is substantially immune to shock loads which areexpected to be of a fairly large order when trees of considerable sizeare to be cut. Consequently, the shaft, bearings and housing can be ofminimum dimensions consistent with the provision merely of a rotatablesupport for the revolving cutting mechanism.

tal flange 124 for receiving the blades 80 and the pivot bolts 92, andan upturned skirt 126. Theplate 118 may be attached to the flange 98 ofshaft 84- by means of the bolts 96 which cooperate with a plate 128 tosandwich the portion 120 of member 118 between the flange 98 and theplate 128. The frusto conical surface 122 is preferably at a 45 anglewith the horizontal and cooperates with the drive wheel 21 in the samemanner as described in Fig. 3. The skirt 126 serves several functionsone of which is to provide additional rigidity to the member 118. Inaddition, the skirt acts similarly to sled runners and serves to guidethe mechanism over abrupt objects such as large stones and [three] treestumps left after the machine has cut the trees down. This is animportant feature and eliminates in a larger measure shocks and overloadwhich might occur where the blade-holder is unable to ride overuncuttable objects. In addition to the above, the skirt serves as aprotecting shield for the pivot bolts 92 and for the drivplate 14 andSu'ch minimum dimensions would not be possible were the cuttingmechanism to be driven by drive means connected directly to the shaft ashas been the usual practice heretofore.

Preferably the driving and driven surfaces of the cone pulley 20 and thefrusto conical member 82 meet at 45 angles -to minimize slip. The conepulley is constructed preferablyiof molded rubber or other equivalentsubstance and is provided with two back-to-back conical surfaces 21 and21a (see Fig. 3) so that when one surface is worn the pulley may bereversed and the other surface used.

From theforegoing description it is believed that the operation of thecutter of the invention should be obvious. .It will be apparent that fora front carried brush cutter as illustrated, the height of cut is merelyadjusted by .a .proper setting. of the power actuators to raise or lowerthe arms 22 to the desired position. If the cutter of the invention isto be trailed, the described mechanism can'be attached to a wheeledchassis similar to that em ployed with a harvester or cultivator whereinthe height of out can be varied by adjusting the wheels with respect tothe chassis. The type of adjustable chassis referred to is showngenerally in the patent to Sishc, No. 2,649,678. It is contemplated thatin the case of a trailed cutter constructed in accordance with theinvention, the cutter would be desirably used in cutting lightvegetation as for example, weeds and small bushes in pastures, shreddingstalks and orchard prunings, maintaining pipe lines, telephone linerights-of-way etc. The drive from the power take-off can, if thesituation demands, be connected directly'to the s ?fl '2carrying thecone pulley 20. Additionally, a guard can be provided around the cuttingzone to prevent possible injury from debris thrown outwardly by theblades. These and various other variations'and modifications can beresorted to without, however, departing from the scope and spirit of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cutter of the type having a horizontal bedplate and horizontallyrotating blades, means for mounting and driving said blades beneath saidbedplate comprising a rotatable shaft vertically journaled in saidbedplate, a circular blade carrying member connected to said shaftbeneath said plate, said blade carrying member being a unitary dishedstructure having a marginal flange for receiving said blades, a centralportion for attaching said member to said shaft, an intermediateinwardly and upwardly sloping annular frusto-conical portion integrallyconnecting the inner edge of said marginal flange to the outer edge ofsaid central portion, and an upwardly and outwardly sloping skirtintegral with the outer edge of said flange, a vertically disposed conepulley journaled on the upper surface of said bedplate and extendingthrough an opening in said bedplate into frictional engagement with saidfrusto-conical portion, and power means for rotating said pulley todrive said blade-carrying member.

2. A cutter of the type having a horizontal bedplate and horizontallyrotating blades, means for mounting and driving said blades beneath saidbedplate comprising a rotatable shaft vertically journaled in saidbedplate, a circular blade carrying member connected to said shaftbeneath said plate, said blade carrying member being a unitary dishedstructure having a marginal flange for receiving said blades, a centralportion. for attaching said member to said shaft, an intermediateinwardly and upwardly sloping annular frusto-conical portion integrallyconnecting the inner edge of said marginal flange to the 6 outer edge ofsaid central portion, an upwardly and outwardly sloping skirt integralwith the outer edge of said flange, and power means opcrativelyconnected to said blade carrying member for rotating the some.

3. In a cutter mechanism including a vertical rotatable shaft, acircular blade holder connected to said shaft, and means operativelyconnected to said holder and said shaft for rotating the same, saidholder comprising a unitary inverted dish shaped member having a closedtop, an open bottom and an outwardly sloping side wall, a peripheralmarginal flange connected to the lower end of said side wall andextending radially outwardly with respect to said side wall, a pluralityof cutting elements connected to the lower side of said flange, and anupwardly and outwardly sloping skirt integral with the outer edge ofsaid flange.

i References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,225,139 Urschel Dec. 17, 1940 2,484,511 IngallsOct. 11, 1949 2,522,112 Gilmour Sept. 12, 1950 2,529,870 Golasky Nov.14, 1950 2,612,017 Iarmin Sept. 30, 1952 2,677,926 Washbourne et a1 May11, 1954 2,685,160 Kuhary et al Aug. 3, 1954 2,706,441 Caldwell et alApr. 19, 1955 2,737,772 Jacobsen Mar. 13, 1956 2,743,565 Dow May 1, 19562,764,268 Summerour Sept. 25, 1956 2,787,881 McDaniel Apr. 9, 19572,793,484 McNeill et a1 May 28, 1957 2,867,963 Lawrence et a1. Jan. 13,1959

